True Invaders
by SeriouslyFunnySketcher
Summary: Another Irken? It's impossible. Yet true, and she knows Zim. Somehow even Dib can tell she's far different from Tak was and even makes a deal with her
1. Observer

A new alien in Skool, with another horribly done costume, it was obvious she was Irken like Zim. Yet instead of trying to assert himself against the new threat to his "mission," Dib noticed Zim was nearly afraid of the newcomer. If anything he treated her like she was superior, as if he'd tried once with this Irken and discovered the hard way she was stronger than him.

She was, in fact, far smarter in covering up her flawed disguise than he was, smarter than Zim in general it seemed. Dib had long given up on his attempts to reveal Zim to his class, so when she arrived he didn't bat an eyelid. There was no point. Was there? On the second day of the new alien's arrival, she called herself "Zet," he found himself being approached by her.

"Dib-weasel?" She addressed him from behind, causing the boy to drop part of his lunch and turn with a jump. He half expected Zim, though Zet's voice was slightly higher pitched than his in the first place. "I would like to talk."

"I could only imagine what this is about." He snapped, sitting down with what was left of his food and scooting so Zet could sit beside him, much to the disgust of every molecule of his being. "What are you going to do, zap my big head with your Ir-"

"Irken weapons and use it to learn everything about you disgusting humans?" She finished for him. He blinked a few times in surprise as she took a bite of her mashed potatoes. "No. This is about something you and I have in common, Dib-weasel...this is about Zim." Silence filled the air between the she-alien and the human. She didn't despise Zim as much as Dib, did she? Or was it something else? In his confusion, Zet managed to catch Dib's eye. The look through her contacts was clear as day. She hated that male Irken.

"All I needed to know." He smiled a little. "You aren't here to invade earth like he is, are you?"

"On the contrary, human. I am here to study the humans to see if this planet is truly fit for invasion. Though if I find the right human I may find a way to spare it. I was not a fan of Operation Impending Doom when I heard that innocent fools would die." Her tone showed a thick emotion, and he forced himself to look away. Why were his ears getting warm? "Dib-boy, I have a proposal."

"I'm not looking for any-"

"A deal, you idiot. I would never marry a worm thing like you, your head is far too big." Unlike Zim's taunts when he called Dib big-headed, the boy could sense Zet was teasing. "You assist me with learning about the human species, weapons, armada, planetary defenses. And I...assist you with a little green nuisance." A single Irken spider leg slid out of Zet's Pak and made a straight line across her throat, then turned to point at Zim, who was obliviously eating a sandwich.

"Gah-Bologna!" Zim shrieked at that moment, choking on the lettuce of his sandwich and hurling it at a wall. Dib watched for a moment and turned to the she-alien beside him, who was smiling oddly. The deal was so tempting...he slowly moved his hand and placed it before her, in which she reared back in confusion.

"What is that?!" She hissed furiously.

"Nonono! It's just a handshake!" Dib soothed, taking her hand with his free one and placing it into the hand he had offered. "See? No harm. It's how humans agree to deals or say hello or goodbye."

"A handshake." Zet stared at their interconnected hands as Dib shook slowly. "Then you have agreed to the proposal."

"Get a room." Dib shrieked as his sister sat down across from them, Gamestation in her face. "Lovebirds."

"Who is that?" Zet pointed at Gaz, disgust crossing her face. The two locked eyes long enough for Gaz to hiss and the she-alien quickly hid behind Dib.

"That, unfortunately, is my sister." He responded, scooting away from Zet enough that she fell from the booth. She stood with a huff and dusted her dress off. "She's terrifying, don't anger her."

"Did not plan on it."


	2. An Irken in my House

Zet came home with them. She didn't have a SIR of any sort, it was only her, so Dib felt less concerned about her having lied to him about the "deal" they made. She was completely unprotected if she were to attack.

"Son!" Dib cringed at the sound of his father's voice over a hovering hologram. "Did you bring a girl home?"

"She's a classmate, Dad. We're just doing some homework and she'll go home." He assured the professor, forcing every word.

"They're gonna smooch," Gaz called down the hall, disappearing into her room before Dib could tackle her.

"What is 'smooch,' Dib-thing?" Zet looked to her companion, clearly clueless.

"Something we are NOT doing. Ever." He glared down the hall. "I promise, we're just going to do some research, Dad...in my room. With the door locked." As he said it he realized how stupidly accurate that sounded to an at-home date.

"You have a good first date then, son! I have a lot of work to do!" That went...smoothly. The professor's hologram floated away. Dib gagged at the thought and sighed before turning to the she-alien.

"I hope all of that went over your head." He grabbed her wrist and took off upstairs to his room before she could answer.

"What is a first date, human?" Zet ordered. Dib shrugged and began to open his computer, hoping she would take that. She didn't. "I am interested now. Is a date a human thing?"

Dib sighed, realizing he wasn't getting rid of the topic unless it was addressed. "A date is a sort of...well when two humans like each other a lot they go on a date."

"It's a mating ritual." The she-alien said bluntly.

"NO!" He shook his hands in horror. "It's, well, it kind of is but it isn't. Two people go together to special places and call those meetups dates. If they go well, they keep having them until they either decide they aren't fit for each other or choose to get married."

"So it is a mating ritual." Zet crossed her arms triumphantly. "I have learned something! Why did the floating human head say we were having a date?"

"That was my dad."

"I feel sorry for you."

"What-no, it was just a hologram of my dad! My dad's always really busy so he only shows his face like that if he has to talk to me or Gaz."

"So...?"

"So he's really determined for me to get over my 'silly alien-hunting' thing. He's probably thinking about trying to get me a girlfriend now, and when he saw you I bet he thought you were." He began clicking away at his computer in an attempt to change the subject somehow. Maybe he thought she would stop talking, but she didn't.

"A girl-friend? I do not consider us friends, Dib-thing...not yet."

"Girlfriend is a term for a potential female mate."

"Oh. Disgusting!" Out came the long, gross Irken tongue as Zet wrinkled her face up in disgust.

"Same. Wait, did you say not yet? To the...friends part?" He turned to face her as she made herself comfortable on the bed.

"Yes. Not yet. We could become friends, we both have an interest in a species from another planet and we both despise Zim." Zet changed positions until she found herself laying upside down, wig falling off onto the floor. "Would you not want an Irken friend?"

"I never thought of befriending an alien before."

"Silly Dib-boy. You're the alien." She...wasn't entirely wrong. To her humans must be alien. He shook his head after finding himself staring at her and turned back to the computer.

"Here, I have some of the human histories pulled up. I thought you'd want to start with where we came from first." Zet fell off the bed in an attempt to get up and adjusted herself behind Dib, staring at the caveman's image on the screen.

"That is a human?! It looks like a Chookplut!" There was that Irken tongue again. "Are you evolved Chookpluts?"

"I have no idea." Instead of shoving Dib as Zim would...Zet climbed into his lap. He went tense and peered around her green head, trying to ignore the alarms going off inside him. Without her wig, her antennae were fully visible. They were long and slender with a slight swirl at the end, which went up instead of down. He had the insane temptation to...touch one. And he did. Needless to say, he was greeted with a sharp slap and thrown to the floor, Zet's curious personality turning to fury as she hovered over him within seconds.

"What in the galaxy was that?!" She snarled, Irken spider-legs clicking into the floor directly through Dib's coat.

"I-I'm sorry! I just-it was in my face-I was moving it so I could see..." He stammered a few other things. "Are your antennae sensitive?" The legs contracted and Zet fell onto the bed once more. Her narrowed gaze told him it was indeed a sensitive body part.

"Do not touch my antennae unless I ASK you to, Dib-baby." She moved to the chair as he situated himself and tried to stand up. He sat there a few more minutes in plain shock, a little too scared to get back up until he remembered how many times Zim had attacked with his Pak-legs. Typically Dib could just hit back, what the heck was different about Zet? Finally, he got up. No time to think about that.


	3. Studying

It was beyond dark when Zet decided she had read enough. Dib had fallen asleep and grunted when she nudged him. "Dib-weasel get up!" She snapped. It made him jump and his glasses slipped.

"I'll get you, Zim!" He slurred. "Oh, oh, sorry. Where am I?" After a moment he saw Zet and shook his head to clear it. Right. She-alien in his room...at eleven at night.

"Dib-weasel, I am not Zim. And we are in your home."

"I know that now...why are you still here?"

"I was not yet finished reading about humans. However, I have another request for you." Zet's expression was a mix of almost hope and disgust. If that was possible at the same time. "I do not have a base."

"You what now." Dib sat up straight. "You have nowhere to go?"

"That is what I said, is it not?" The she-alien responded indignantly. "I am an observer, not an invader. Observers must fend for themselves by way of shelter."

"Well, you can't live here!"

"And why not?!"

"My dad would DEFINITELY think we were dating then! And so would Gaz!"

"Then we shall." It took a moment for what Zet said to register, which resulted in a number of confused noises.

"No-no-no. No. We are NOT dating! I just met you! You are NOT human! That's not how it works, Zet!"

"Dib-weasel, think." She retorted. "It will keep your sister quiet. And your father. Not to mention, if we are a constant team, Zim would have no chance of getting either of us alone. We could work together to eliminate him and he would not see it coming. this 'dating' would be a cover-up." All of Zet's points were true. But he had spent all his life believing aliens were evil. And Zet was an Irken...just like Zim. How did he know this wasn't a plan to eliminate HIM instead? As he thought, he looked her way. Her face made it clear she was dead serious.

Dib took a deep breath. "Fine," He hissed. "But once Zim is gone, the dating thing goes too. And you move out of my house. Deal?"

"Deal." Zet offered a hand, just like he had the afternoon before. Hesitantly...he took it. "So, how do humans 'date,' Dib-weasel?" Her hand dropped to her side and she tilted her head.

"Well a good way to convince people we're 'together' is to hold hands any chance we get." That resulted in another reveal of the Irken tongue and a slight hiss. "Gross I know. But it's the first step for our plan against Zim, you said so."

"Ugh. I hate to be reminded of what I said. But so be it." She looked around and after a moment climbed up onto the bed. "I must sleep."

"That's my bed-" Dib stuttered, backing up when she cut eyes at him. "Or, we could share. That's fine." He wasn't scared of her, right? She had no weapons other than those horrifying legs. She wasn't Zim. Why wasn't he trying to reveal her to his dad? She had half of her disguise gone! It would be so easy to reveal her! It was their deal. Right? It was because she was on his side. With a huff, he climbed onto the bed and tried to stay a bit away from Zet.


	4. The Plan

The sunlight of the morning crept into the window. Zet hissed and buried her face into...Dib's chest. She refused to move from this position and he groggily lifted his head at the contact. For a heartbeat, he panicked, thinking once more that it was Zim, and trying to shove her off. When it dawned he stopped and laid there for a moment, confused.

"Zet, we have to get up." He nudged the she-alien, who grabbed the sides of his shirt and burrowed deeper into his chest. She did not want to move. "Come on, don't tell me you want Gaz teasing us all day." The pink eyes snapped open and she flung herself away from Dib, falling onto the floor. She quickly stood up and looked around.

"It is morning." She stated plainly. "That means skool."

"No kidding. Come on, we have toaster waffles downstairs, I'm sure." Dib tried to shake the moment from his mind and grabbed his jacket-he hadn't changed out of his day clothes anyways-to put on and rush out o his room. Zet grabbed her wig from the desk and followed.

"What are toaster waffles?" She queued. For someone so clever, she was obviously completely new to human foods. "Are they weapons?"

"They're food." Dib was reaching for the box in the freezer, coming barely short of grabbing it. An Irken spider leg pierced the box and dropped it into his hands.

All the waffles they ate had a perfectly round hole in the center of them.

* * *

When Dib, Gaz, and Zet got on the bus the she-alien forced herself to sit beside Dib, and as they had decided the night before, she allowed him to place his hand atop hers. it was so frail feeling like the slightest pressure would break it. And only three fingers, Dib barely kept himself from moving his hand away, afraid to hurt her yet also wanting to stick to the plan. Why did he care if he broke it? He could easily take her glove off and reveal it to everyone.

"Dib-Weasel. You are staring at my hand." Zet nudged him. "You are not enjoying this, are you?"

"What-no! I just...Zim never got close enough for me to see his hands. Not that well." Dib stuttered, looking away. "I've always wanted to see what Irken hands looked like." Zet's hand slid out from under his and he twisted his face up...until he had a small green hand right before his eyes. Dib jumped, then looked from her to her hand in surprise. It was as frail as it felt, thin and bony. He hesitated, then reached up to take it. Her Irken skin was soft, even with the rigid knuckles clearly visible.

"Irken hands are typically stronger than this." She whispered. "I haven't had a fair amount of sustenance in so long that they are weaker than they should be. Observers do not get nourished properly."

"That's...awful." He couldn't believe the aliens treated each other so badly within the same species. "Why not?"

"We have to learn to live the same way the creatures of the planet we observe do." Zet allowed him to inspect her hand for another moment before placing her glove back on. "I hadn't discovered how you eat until this morning."

"Wow. I thought you Irkens were all just...programmed to be healthy or something." The bus finally stopped in front of the Skool. "I'm a little impressed there are different levels, but that's still wrong to treat other types of your own species differently."

"What do you think they did to Zim?" Zet responded curtly, taking his hand once they were off the bus. "He had been exiled when Operation Impending Doom Two began, they only sent him here to be rid of him."

"I kind of knew that, but I thought that was because of how annoying he was."

"That as well. He is a fool." She laughed a little. "You know, I could give you information on Irken. We will be living together and our plan would require ample knowledge of Irken weaknesses."

"How do you know I wouldn't use that information against you?" Dib raised an eyebrow.

"You seem to be above backstabbing, Dib-thing." She responded.

"Hey, look, the bigheaded freak has a girlfriend!" A student they passed called out. Zet cut her eyes at the student and hissed sharply, causing them to jump back and blubber.

"Are you jealous, worm-child, that I have a mad genius on my side?" The she-alien snarled. "It appears you 'children' are all alone." The taunting in her voice caused all the students nearby to sink back...Dib was shocked. Their attention quickly went from teasing to almost worshipping the two.


	5. Threatening

Zim quickly noticed the attention drawn to the two, instead of him, for once. Dib was being...liked! The other students weren't teasing him for his large head, or his alien claim outbursts...which he hadn't done all day. Zim was confused until he saw Dib and Zet walking along the side of the building during lunch break. They were holding hands. Even Zim knew Zet's disguise was as bad as his, yet convincing for the humans. He knew she was an Irken, he knew Dib should know.

"Hello, fellow human worm baby." He had managed to sneak up behind the two. Dib shrieked and Zet turned with an unamused expression. "I couldn't help but notice you had an interest in the Dib-thing."

"Yes, we are partners." Zet's eyes narrowed. She knew Zim was an idiot...would he be stupid enough for this? "Why must you ask? Is it not obvious?"

"It is VERY clear!" Zim snapped. "I am simply curious."

"Well, you can back off, Zim. Zet and I have dating things to do." That sounded horrible in Dib's head, but it worked, surprisingly. "Don't bother us." No alien remarks, no attempt to reveal him. Zim watched them walk away without a word. Once they were out of his hearing range he slid his glove down to reveal a communication wristband.

"GIR! I believe The Dib is under some form of mind control." He hissed into it.

"Yay! Tacos!" GIR responded happily.

"GIR! Listen to me! This is a perfect time to attack. The Dib being used, we can eliminate Zet and our mission will be safe!" Zim growled. GIR stared at the screen.

"I like tacos."

"Yes, GIR, I am aware. Let's hurry, Zet may begin to control other students, with the human worms weak I can take action without being noticed."

"Do I get a taco?"

Zim gritted his teeth. "Yes, fine. I will get you tacos. Just come get me!" Moments later the robot landed behind him. "I AM ZIM!" He shouted, climbing onto GIR's back. Before he could take off, Zim found himself knocked off. GIR flew out the window without him. Rolling to face whoever it was, Zim gasped. He expected Dib...it was Zet, and she had a single spider leg that pressed up against the male Irken's throat before he could get up.

"I believe I will make this quick, Invader Zim." She tilted her head up slightly. "I heard about your plan. Do not touch my Dib-weasel, and you live. Am I clear?" Her gaze cut through him and he could catch a glimpse of Dib behind her, arms crossed. So the human knew that his new 'partner' was an Irken. Zim gulped, then nodded slowly. The spider leg retracted.

"I think she was serious, Zim. So stay away from me. The slightest wrong move..." Dib moved a hand to make a line across his throat. "We wouldn't want that, would we?"


	6. The Secret's Out

For a couple of days, Zim paced down in his lab, he'd taken Zet on before, and remembered how horribly wrong it went. It had turned in the she-irken's favor quickly. She was taller than him merely by a couple of earth inches, but she was clearly weaker...right? She was female! Though, she seemed more advanced than him. Observers were known to be smarter, close to the knowledge level of a Tallest. Wait...

"MY TALLEST!" The screen flickered to life as he screamed the phrase, causing the two leaders to cover their antennae. "ZIM has a problem!"

"You don't say?" Red raised an eyebrow...they acted as though they knew about Zet, but Zim ignored this.

"There is another irken! She is an observer, and has threatened me!" He began to complain, almost. Soon enough he was droning on and the Tallest weren't even paying attention to him. They got another call halfway through his droning. "And she-M-my tallest?!" The screen had gone black and was now giving off a static image.

* * *

"Almighty Tallest." Dib's head went up at the authority in his new roommate's tone. "I have found a place to abide and an assistant to give me information on this planet." Zet had a hologram hovering above her outstretched arm, and Dib couldn't help but peer around her to watch.

"Good...and...Zim?" It was definitely the Tallest, and they looked interested in what the she-alien had to say.

"He will be properly disposed of. My assistant will be sure our plan works seamlessly." She glanced Dib's way at this and the Tallest followed her gaze.

"Wait, is that that human boy who bothered us for a whole six hours?" Purple pointed at the boy. Dib shoved up his glasses and glared, this time silent as he watched the two irken glance from him to Zet.

"It matters not. He has the knowledge and is willing to keep me alive. I am, your last hope in finally getting rid of...my brother." Hatred and almost regret dripped from Zet's tone as her long tongue uncoiled from her mouth again at the word "brother." There was silence. The Tallest nodded and glanced one last time to Dib.

"Don't forget to give us reports again, Observer Zet. We will be expecting them." The hologram flickered away. Dib stood for a moment, staring slack-jawed at Zet before shoving his glasses up.

"Zet..." She turned to the boy. "Zim...is...your BROTHER?!"


	7. The Decision

It made absolutely no sense to Dib, Zet and Zim were siblings! And she wanted to destroy the male irken? As he paced, the she-alien tried vainly to explain.

"Irkens are genetically cloned to have slightly different DNA. When there's a cloning error, two irkens will end up having the exact same DNA...save for myself and Zim." She was sitting curled up in his office chair. "He and I have the same genetic code other than myself being female." Dib would have loved to write all this down, but he was still confused about one thing.

"If he's your brother and a twin at that...why in the world would you want to destroy him?!" He turned to see her looking at the floor, pink eyes distant with some form of embarrassment.

"As I said before, Dib-Weasel. I do not approve of Operation Impending Doom Two. I did not approve of the original, either and...I allowed Zim to take my place as an invader. The Tallests that were in charge at that time blamed me for letting him become so reckless, so when Red and Purple came to leadership, I pleaded for a return to position." She was almost childishly toying with one of her antennae at this point. "I've despised Zim since his actions had me placed as a cloning operator. The original Tallests thought I would be as dangerous as he was."

"So they punished you instead of Zim."

"Oh, they punished Zim. But I wanted him dead. And, as I've discovered, so do you."

"Course I do. He sucks at what he does, but he's still an alien. They're dangerous." Zet's head snapped up. Dib realized quickly he used the wrong words. "He's dangerous! Not you! I...I think you're on our side..."

"Dib-Weasel...the reason I have not harmed him yet is that I have fought him before." She was clearly trying to change the subject, and Dib let her. "He was not strong enough to beat me, but I spared him. I want to please my Tallest, and I know they hate him as much as we do."

"So you spared him until killing him was part of your orders." Zet nodded and Dib gave a sigh. "I can tell you straight out he's hard for me to beat. Irken technology can beat him, I'm sure. And I'd be pretty glad to lend you a hand. You're definitely on our side."

"I am. But I'm also very weak." Zet pulled off her glove to show him again the bony knuckles and loose green skin on her hand. "When I fought him last time I had the strength of an invader."

"Then we'll get you back to that strength," Dib said decisively. He caught her gaze. The pink eyes softened and there was a hint of a smile on Zet's face now. "I'll help you as long as you're helping me save Earth from Zim."


	8. Winter

Cold weather was coming around and "Subtle" hints of a Christmas Prom were going around Skool. Mostly students screaming at one another about it and demanding dates. Dib managed to steer Zet as far from the commotion as possible until one afternoon when he came into his room from showering. She was suddenly right in his face and he barely managed to keep the towel around himself.

"What is a prom?" She demanded. Shoot. Dib shoved his glasses up and tried to ignore how hot his face had become with her standing there.

"Zet, at least let me change! I'll...tell you later." The she-alien crossed her arms, an eyebrow going up under her wig. She wasn't leaving until she knew, clearly, and he could tell. "Okay, fine. But you have to turn away. I'll tell you while I'm getting dressed." She'd been in the room a couple of times when he changed clothes and he was used to that by now, though every time she refused to leave he could tell his entire face was red hot. As he tugged pants on under the towel, he started to explain how the prom was considered a dance for human "partners" to participate in, and that the boy usually asked the girl.

"So why has The Dib not asked me yet?" There was absolute innocence in the tone, but Dib still faltered and toppled onto his face, entangled in his towel.

"Asked you-Zet we aren't REALLY dating! It's a ruse to trick Zim, remember?" He managed to sit up. "And...I'm afraid of the prom."

"We are supposed to trick the other humans as well, aren't we?" She pulled the towel up from his arms, and he slapped them over his now bare chest with a beet red nod. "Then we shall go to this prom."

"Zet!" She threw a shirt at him instead of letting him argue. He heaved a sigh. "Fine."

* * *

The next morning at skool, both of them were stunned to silence as Zim made his way over to Zet's desk. Even Dib had noticed how he tried to avoid her at all costs and muttered under his breath. But this morning, he slapped his hands down on the end of her desk and looked her dead in the eye.

"Zet!" He exclaimed. "ZIM demands you to go to the prom with him!" His tone was obvious. He'd been seen screaming the same thing to other girls only for them to run away. He apparently wanted to be there for some reason. Dib had an idea why, and he forced a deep breath before getting up.

"Sorry, Zim...but Zet already has a date to the Christmas Prom." And like that the boy and the male irken were nose to...lack of a nose. "Me." He said confidently. There were gasps from the kids already in class, and Zim reared back from being inches from Dib's face.

"But-but I NEED to go to the Prom, Dib-Thing!" He hissed, then under his breath uttered a curse. "Fine! ZIM does not need a date! I will go alone!"

"Couples only." A girl in the back held up a poster to prove her point. He cut his eyes at her and she sank into her seat.

"The Beanie-worm is right, Zim." Zet's voice was full of poison when she said his name. "You must have a partner." She was smirking now. Dib made the mistake of glancing at her and all his senses began to scream at him. He could feel the burning of his ears and it was clear as day he was turning red. Why was this happening? Every time he looked at her when she was...however she was acting at that moment. It made his neck hair stand on end at a thought that shot through his head. He liked Zet.

At the realization, Dib's eyes rolled back. Everyone turned at a hard, heavy _thud_.


	9. Saved By an Idiot

"Dib? Dib!" A high-pitched, scared sounding voice made Dib mumble a little, and he cracked his eyes open. His bedroom ceiling. And...Zet, staring down at him with wide eyes. "Dib!"

"That's my name..." He sat up. "Why am I at home? In...my room?"

"You died!" Zet half-shrieked.

"You fainted." Gaz was in the doorway. "And if your alien girlfriend comes into my classroom and drags me home one more time I'm gonna kill you both." She stormed off.

"I...fainted." The morning slowly came back to him and he felt himself go cold all over. "Zet, I-we have a problem."

"No joke. I believe Zim was going to try and be rid of me if I agreed to go to this 'prom' thing with him." Everything Dib was about to say died on his tongue.

"HE WHAT!" He jumped to his feet as Zet opened her mouth to repeat herself...she quickly discovered he was gone.

"Dib-Weasel?" Zet looked around the empty room, then glanced out the window when she heard heavy breathing. Dib was running down the street, no doubt towards Zim's house. "DIB!"

"I am not saving his sorry butt if he gets caught this time." Gaz strolled past the door again, GameSlave in hand.

"This...time...?" Dib had been caught before? And Gaz had to save him, apparently. Zet glanced out the window again, now actually concerned about what she'd heard.

* * *

Zim was pacing in his living room, GIR following and eating popcorn. The robot paused every few seconds to hack and once even coughed up a kernel, which hit Zim in the head. The male irken was too deep in his ranting to notice.

"I must get into that 'prom' in order to become the 'prom king' and rule over EARTH!" He hissed, clenching his fists furiously. "Once I am in I can destroy the Dib! And his stupid little friend!"

"Stupid?" Dib was loud enough to be heard. Zim whirled around to the couch and shrieked, causing the human to bolt.

"GIR! Don't let him outside!" He pointed at Dib, and the robot jumped him.

"GET OFF!" Dib knew GIR usually listened to anyone, but this time he got knocked down and cuffed.

"Good job, GIR! Now take him down to the lab! I can use him to take down that horrible Zet!" The bot saluted and began to drag Dib to the trash can. He flailed the whole way there.

"I gotta warn Zet...no, wait, I can't warn Zet..." He found himself being strapped to a table, and by this point gave up entirely on trying to get down. Zet probably wouldn't even come looking for him. "What if she planned this? What if everything she said was a lie? She could have-"

"INVADER ZIM!" The shriek nearly sent GIR tumbling. That was definitely Zet's voice. "Where is my Dib?!"

"Your Dib?" Zim's scoff made Dib go rigid. "Foolish Zet! He is MY Dib now! I will use him to destroy you!" He could hear those Irken PAK legs clicking on the floor somewhere above. Two sets.

"I warned you, Zim. I warned you to stay away from Dib-Weasel or pay dearly!" There were loud clattering sounds and the sound of an elevator closing. The two aliens tumbled into the lab, PAK legs fully out and slicing at one another. "Did you forget LOSING to me last time?!"

"I can never forget your feeble attempt to be rid of me!" Another slice through the air. There was a ripping sound and Dib glanced in time to see Zet turn a cut arm away from him. She was hurt, clearly, but seemed to not want him to see. The Irkens walked on their stilt legs around the table, occasionally lashing out.

There was a loud beep. GIR turned proudly to the table as a...massive...drill...began to spin and come down towards Dib. He screamed.

"DIB!" Zet flinched as her arm was sliced into again, turning towards the table and trying to approach it. Zim used two of his PAK limbs to hold her back.

"GIR! I told you the BRAIN drill, not the DISSECTION drill!" He screamed at the bot.

"Ohhhh! I thought you said murder drill!" GIR chirped, pressing another button. The drill disappeared...replaced by a massive saw.

"No no no no!" Dib began to writhe this time. He stopped as he heard metal cutting metal, and opened his eyes. Zet was a mere foot from being directly on top of him and was holding the saw back with a few of her spider legs. One of them had been torn entirely off by the pressure and landed with a clank on the floor beside the table. With a free hand, the she-alien struggled to unclip the binds holding Dib down. As she got his hands free, another spider leg fell to the floor. "Zet-"

"RUN, DIB-WEASEL!" She freed his feet and gave him a hard shove off the table. He scrambled to his feet and started to bolt...then stopped and turned back. A third PAK limb had fallen where he was just laying, and she was struggling, now, to move away from the saw. Zim was approaching her from behind. He looked between Zim and Zet and seemed to feel his heart stop for a moment, then he tackled Zim.

"GIR! GIR HELP!" Zim had been caught off guard and it gave Dib the chance to grab all of his PAK legs at once. The bot...by some dumb luck...turned the machine off before starting over to help his master. Zet shook momentarily and fell to the floor, using the last bit of her strength to slap GIR away. Once Dib saw she wasn't fighting anymore he dropped Zim and grabbed the she-alien's arm, running towards the elevator as if his very life depended on it. Actually, Zet's life was on the line. Her PAK was sliced open and wires were sparking.

"You're an idiot, Zet..." He hissed as he dragged her out of the elevator and towards the door of Zim's house. "You could have died!"

"Maybe so, Dib-Weasel..." She was barely conscious. "But I am your idiot." She wilted in his grip and her eyes closed.


	10. A Game of Waiting

"So...Observer Zet took the coward's way out. Instead of fighting with me...she saved The Dib." Zim picked up one of the PAK legs she had dropped in her struggle with the saw. "And her PAK was cut into." Without the proper equipment, she couldn't fix her PAK...which meant she could die. Very quickly. A wicked grin crept over Zim's face...his threat literally outed herself just to save his other threat.

"I like bacon!" GIR chirped out of nowhere.

"Yes, I know GIR. Now...without Zet in our way, I have a plan!"

"Does it involve exploooosions?" GIR waved his arms about. "A lot of your plans explooode!"

"Thank you for that vote of confidence, GIR." Zim scowled at his robot.

"Ya welcome!" Ignoring the robot, Zim turned to the controls. He began to type and the wicked smile grew on his face again as a loading screen popped up on the massive computer before him.

* * *

"Okay...Zet..." Dib put her on his bed and reached over to her back, pulling the PAK off her as gently as he could. "Let's see if I can do anything about this. It's pretty beat up..." It was sparking and he held it away from them to look at it without his jacket catching fire.

After a minute or two of him working on it, Zet rolled over a little. Dib glanced up. "I know, without it, you'll die. I'm doing my best." He knew she couldn't hear him, but went back to working and talking softly to her anyways. Somehow, he managed to reconnect the wires, but it was still open. "Maybe I can work on it with it on her..." He went over with the PAK and put it near her back, not sure how it worked. It suddenly shot out a couple of tubes and clicked up to her back like it was natural. Dib's hand almost got snapped between them and he jerked it back quickly. Amazing.

"Dib...weasel..." He'd been sitting on the bed trying to repair the sliced portion for several minutes when she responded and his heart leaped to his throat.

"Zet?! Zet, are you okay?" He leaned over her to try and look into her eyes. "Zet...?" The she-alien turned just enough her head was facing his. She looked exhausted and her PAK was clearly not the only thing that took damage. She had a cut along her cheek he hadn't noticed while dragging her home.

"Am I dead?" She whispered hoarsely. Dib shook his head and forced a smile.

"Not yet. I gotta admit, you had me thinking that for a bit there." He started to go back to sealing the sliced metal and froze entirely as Zet leaned up ever so slightly. Her flat face pressed up against his forehead for a moment.

"I have learned that...it's called a 'thank you kiss,' I believe." She put her head back down. The boy stammered for a moment and reached to touch his forehead, his mouth had gone dry and he couldn't respond...so once he was over the initial shock he tried to finish fixing her PAK. "Dib-weasel..."

"Yeah?" He glanced up and put down his tools. "Look, I-I'm sorry I over-"

"That was brave."

"W-what?" He blinked a time or two.

"Going to get Zim without question." Her hoarse, pained voice began to sound a bit more confident and she smiled at him a little. "We did not know if I was in danger or not and you still confronted him."

"Yeah, but...then you WERE in danger...because of me."

"I owed you. You've given me a home, food, and company. You needed to be rescued." She really was nothing like the other irkens. Any of them would have chosen to leave him. "Besides...I did warn Zim to leave you alone. You are my mad scientist."

"And you're my idiot." He forced another smile and Zet gave a half-strangled laugh. "Hey, I understand if you don't want to keep studying humans, or something. If you need to go back home to get better."

"But...I am at home." She sounded surprised Dib considered the ship her home. The boy stared at her blankly and took a minute to look away. "And I will tell my Tallests that if I must."

"Zet you haven't even been here a year...and you already want to stay?" He'd been trying to say something else, but couldn't bring himself to it yet. "What about your job? Destroying Zim? And..."

"I believe I have learned something about siblings from you and the Gaz." Now she had sat up. He double-checked her PAK was sealed shut and moved so he was beside her, their feet dangling over the edge of the bed. "You two have fought and have many differences...but you never harm one another badly enough to become dead, even after she threatens to kill you."

"So...what are you saying?"

"Zim and I are siblings. I may hate him. A lot. But I realized he's another innocent fool. He has no knowledge of what he is doing." She had clenched a fist, and it dropped weakly to her side, landing on Dib's hand. "I have told you before, the death of innocent fools infuriates me."

"You know he's an idiot, and you know killing him would be wrong." He simplified. She gave a curt nod and suddenly leaned hard against him. She didn't move and he realized he was holding a breath.

"What is this?" She had an antenna laid across his chest when he breathed finally. "Something is knocking on your insides."

"That's my heart." Dib struggled to talk and forced down an urge to shove her away. "It's what keeps me alive, sorta like your PAK." As she sat there in silent awe, he found himself reaching for her other antenna. She didn't make a motion to stop him and he very gently ran his hand across it. It was like a long, slender feather. Soft and brittle, like her hands had been when she let him see them. After a moment, Dib took a slightly deeper breath and began to stroke it. A sound almost like a purr erupted from the she-alien leaned on him and she let her head fall slowly until she was almost in his lap. She was falling asleep. Dib looked up as everything seemed to become peacefully silent...it had begun to snow outside.


	11. A Snow Day and a Dress

The morning was bright. The snow had fallen a good few inches and was actually sticking to the ground, making a fluffy white blanket on everything. Zet, who was better after the sleep they'd gotten the night before, was inspecting the white cold...when a lump of it slapped her in the back of the head. She shrieked and whirled around, hurling what she had picked up in the direction it came from. Dib yelped as it hit his glasses and some went down into his shirt.

"COLD!" He jumped and shook his shirt a few times to get rid of it. "Oh, you wanna play that way?" He grinned at the she-alien, who for a moment was confused, and scooped up an armful of snow.

"Play? What kind of-" Another shriek echoed through the yard as Dib dumped the snow he had into the back of her uniform. "DIB-WEASEL! THAT IS COLD!"

"Then you gotta throw some back at me! It's called a snowball fight!" He ran around to the garage as he called this, and Zet shook off before getting a look of understanding. She grabbed some snow up and raced after him, raising her arm to pitch it and freezing as she came around the corner only to see...what she thought was Dib.

"Dib-Weasel? You grew quickly." Momentarily she forgot about the snow in her hand. "You are very tall."

"That's not me!" Dib peered out of the garage and ran up to the taller human. "Zet, this is my dad. Dad, This is Zet, the friend that came over that day. She's been staying here, remember?"

"Your girlfriend!" The tall man said almost happily. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Zet." He knelt down and offered a hand to Zet. She reached out, astonished by how big his hands were, and they shook for a moment.

"I...you are very tall." She stammered.

"I know I am." He bellowed, then leaned down where he was close to her face. "I want to thank you, little lady. My son hasn't uttered the word 'alien' since he met you and it's such a relief."

"Oh, of...of course, mister tall." The professor let her hand go and stood up.

"You kids play nice! I know it almost never snows around here!" He headed for the front door.

"Your 'dad' is very tall." She whispered as Dib came up beside her. He gave a nod and opened his mouth.

"I do hope you plan on taking her to the Christmas prom, son!" The professor had half-leaned out the door to call this at Dib and disappeared back inside once again.

"Oh my gosh...the prom...that's tonight!" The boy went rigid. "If we aren't there and Zim somehow gets in he could mess everything up!"

"You're right. It may not be my job to kill him anymore, but we can still keep him from ruining things for the other humans." Zet nodded decisively. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Dib had grabbed her arms and started looking her over.

"You need a dress." He said. "If you go looking like this they may kick us out."

"A dress?" Zet locked his gaze. "How do we get one?"

* * *

"No. Absolutely not." Dib had a hood on and continued to say no every time Zet pointed to a dress. They were shopping, and he clearly didn't want to be seen. "Green on green skin? Seriously, Zet?"

"I am irken, Dib-weasel. I don't know about this color-coding stuff." She huffed and put the dress back. "Wait, what about that one?" She pointed to a corner of the store he hadn't seen and his eyes went wide. There was a small nod and she bounced a little. She'd done something right!

Moments later she was coming out of a fitting room nervously. "There is a lot of open skin." She glanced up through her wig at Dib, not entirely sure about her decision now. "Someone could notice."

"No one has yet. I think I'm the only one that could see through your disguise, besides Zim." He stood up from the bench beside the shoe rack and went over, straightening the straps on the red dress and going behind her to clip it closed all the way. It felt much closer to the right size now. "And you'll definitely need help putting it on later tonight." When he looked back up from helping her adjust it properly, he noticed her face was turning a slight shade of...blue. She kept her gaze away from him.

"What about my PAK?"

"We'll figure something out, Zet." He assured her, letting her arms go. "If we can't even get into the Christmas prom there's no way to make sure Zim doesn't." She gave a nod of agreement and the blue faded from her face slowly.

"Then this dress is alright?"

"Yeah, now go change back and we'll buy it...and hurry, cause I don't want to be seen in this store."


End file.
